MAAC Men’s Basketball Starts Conference Play

MAAC Men’s Basketball Starts Conference Play

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Edison, N.J. (Dec. 16, 2019) – The conference portion of the 2019-20 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) men's basketball season tips off with two December matchups to end the calendar year.
 
Marist College (1-5) travels to Rider University (6-2) tonight at 7:00 p.m. and Siena College (2-5) hosts Canisius College (5-4) on Dec. 23 at 6:00 p.m. to officially start the conference slate. Both games will air on ESPN3. The four teams will return to non-conference play before resuming MAAC action in January. 
 
Rider heads into tonight’s contest off of a four-game winning streak that has secured the Broncs the top spot in the league’s standings. The only two losses for the Broncs came on the road last month against Massachusetts and Pac-12 foe Arizona State. Four Broncs are scoring in double-digits through eight games in Tyere Marshall (16.8), Frederick Scott (15.1), Stevie Jordan (13.9) and Dimencio Vaughn (13.5).
 
The Red Foxes seek their first win since they defeated VMI on the road to open the season. Marist’s last three games have been decided by a total of eight points, with the last two games ending in overtime.
 
Canisius sits second in the standings after being voted seventh in the Preseason Coaches’ Poll. Freshman Jacco Fritz earned MAAC Rookie of the Week honors for three-straight weeks, becoming the first rookie in program history to accomplish that feat. Senior Malik Johnson is averaging 14.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.9 steals for the Golden Griffins – all good for team-highs.  
 
Siena starts a stretch of four consecutive home games on Dec. 21 after going 2-0 at home to start the season. Preseason Player of the Year Jalen Pickett leads the league in average minutes played at 37.8. Four Saints are averaging 13+ points per game (Pickett, Elijah Burns, Donald Carey, Manny Camper).
 
The regular season culminates with the 2020 MAAC Basketball Championships in the event’s inaugural year at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey from March 10-14.  The Garden State will be home to the MAAC Basketball Championships for the first time since 2003.
 
Non-Conference Notables:
  • Quinnipiac University will conclude its non-conference schedule at Atlantic City’s Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in the Boardwalk Battle tournament on Dec. 20-21.
  • Fairfield University defeated Texas A&M by a score of 67-62 in the Orlando Invitational, marking the program’s first ever win over an SEC opponent.
  • Landon Taliaferro’s 10 three-pointers made in the Stags’ win over Texas A&M is tied for the single-game NCAA high this season.
  • Iona College went 2-0 in the inaugural MAAC/ASUN Challenge at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex with wins over Kennesaw State and Stetson. Tajuan Agee was named the first MAAC/ASUN Challenge MVP on the men’s side. Monmouth University went 1-1 on the weekend with a 71-40 win over Kennesaw State.
  • Quinnipiac’s Rich Kelly leads the league in scoring, averaging 17.9 points per game.
  • The Bobcats’ Kevin Marfo is averaging a league-high 13.0 rebounds. Marfo is currently second in the nation in that category, only trailing Notre Dame’s John Mooney.
  • Monmouth has won five of its first 10 games this season after getting off to an 0-12 start in 2018-19. The Hawks are coming off of a 67-66 victory over Princeton thanks to a buzzer-beating three from Ray Salnave.
  • Saint Peter’s University freshman Doug Edert is first in the MAAC in three-point field goal percentage and tied for fourth in the NCAA at 53.1 percent.
  • Manhattan College sits at .500 with one game left on its non-conference schedule. The Jaspers erased double-digit deficits in three of their four wins.
  • Niagara University has three players averaging double-figures in James Towns (16.6), Raheem Solomon (12.6) and Marcus Hammond (10.5). 
For the full 2019-20 schedule, click here. See below for the full slate of conference-openers:
 
Monday, Dec. 16
  • Marist at Rider – 7:00 p.m. 
Monday, Dec. 23
  • Canisius at Siena – 6:00 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 3
  • Monmouth at Siena – 7:00 p.m.
  • Saint Peter’s at Iona – 7:00 p.m.
  • Manhattan at Canisius – 7:00 p.m.
  • Fairfield at Niagara – 7:00 p.m.
  • Quinnipiac at Marist – 7:00 p.m.
About the 2020 MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships:
The MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships return to New Jersey on March 10-14, 2020 at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. To stay up to date on MAAC basketball, visit maacsports.com/basketball and follow @MAACHoops on Twitter.
 
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 39th year of competition during the 2019-20 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College.